


Under the Mistletoe

by thekeyholder



Category: Strange the Dreamer Series - Laini Taylor
Genre: Banter, Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:35:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28314633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekeyholder/pseuds/thekeyholder
Summary: Ruza has had a crush on Thyon for months, but he doesn't know how to go about it. Finally, a solution becomes evident when they learn about the tradition of the mistletoe in a new world.
Relationships: Calixte Dagaz/Tzara, Thyon Nero/Ruza
Comments: 8
Kudos: 9





	Under the Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I've loved Thyon and Ruza ever since Muse of Nightmares came out, but haven't really had the time to write back then. I'm rereading it again, though, and loving them even more. :D
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Given that Weep had such a hot climate, Ruza had never seen snow before. Eyes wide, he looked around at the delicate snowfall covering everything, and a laugh escaped involuntarily from his chest. He'd never thought snow could be so pretty. 

"You're going to need these," Thyon said, handing him a pair of gloves with a smile. 

Ruza's grin was soon replaced by shock as Thyon pelted him with a snowball. 

"Hey, that's unfair!" he protested, scrambling to pull on the gloves, while Thyon found an ally, and was now attacking him together with Tzara.

"You have to be ready for anything!" 

"Let's kick their asses!" Calixte shouted as she joined Ruza, never one to back away from a challenge.

It seemed that everyone on the Astral had the same thought when they saw the snowy landscape, several snowball fights erupting around them, shouts and laughter filling the air. 

Tzara and Thyon were surprisingly organised, as if they had fought hundreds of times before; Thyon was producing the snowballs while Tzara threw them with frightening accuracy. They hid behind a heap of snow, and even had a row of ready made balls on top, so they could throw two at once if needed. 

"Alright, we need a change of strategy," Ruza panted as he and Calixte hid behind the trunk of a huge tree.

"They're too good together," Calixte agreed. "What if I ambush Tzara and you deal with Thyon?" 

"Good plan. Go and attack her before they figure out our scheme." 

Calixte was quick on her feet; she somehow managed to climb the tree, and go over a thick branch to the tree that was right above their enemies. Meanwhile Ruza was trying to keep up with the onslaught of snowballs and trash talk.

"Pretty sure that throw would have disqualified you from being a Tizerkane," Tzara shouted as her snowball hit Ruza on his left shoulder. "That's how you do it!" 

"You're really bad at this!" Thyon's trash talk could use some practice, but he was laughing, and clearly having a good time, so Ruza just smiled. 

"We'll see about that," he shouted back, an evil grin spreading on his face when he saw that Calixte had reached the branch above her girlfriend without being noticed.

"ATAAAAAAAACK!" Calixte roared as she threw herself on Tzara, knocking her down and then rolling away. 

Thyon fell back on his backside in surprise, his hat askew as he watched the two women wrestle. He looked back at Ruza's shit eating grin. 

"You don't have such a big mouth now, do you?" 

"I'm still better than you, you tropical barbarian." 

Ruza was laughing so hard, he had to hold the tree for support. Thyon's snowball flew by his ear, though, so he had to ambush his friend soon — Calixte and Tzara had clearly had an armistice in the meantime, and were now heavily kissing in the snow. 

Ruza wouldn't have minded a similar outcome with Thyon — to be fair, it was all he could think about for some months, although his scenarios usually involved a lot less snow. He and Thyon had become best friends so quickly, and he was quite sure Thyon harboured romantic feelings too, but Ruza was afraid of ruining everything. Tzara and Calixte had teased him forever, and assured him that Thyon was equally lovesick, had he not seen the moony look Thyon had every time he looked at Ruza? — but the warrior didn't want to rush into anything. 

Except for a snowball charge. 

He decided to use a lot less stealth than Calixte had, so he just ran and tackled a very surprised Thyon. 

"You're cheating, this is not a snowball fight!" Thyon yelled as he wrestled with Ruza, his eyes alight with joy. 

"I changed the rules,  _ faranji _ . What you're going to do about it?" 

"Make you eat snow!" 

Ruza laughed, blocking Thyon's arm as he tried to wash away Ruza's smug expression with a handful of snow. He managed to get a hold of both of Thyon's arms and pushed them back by his head.

"Give up, Nero. This tropical barbarian bested you even at snowballs." 

Ruza grinned down at Thyon in victory as the alchemist was now trapped underneath him, unable to get away. Gods, but Thyon was so beautiful. Every time Ruza thought he could get used to it, his breath was knocked out of his chest. A few blonde locks had escaped from underneath Thyon's hat, framing his red cheeks and blue eyes which shone so vividly now. His lips, so pink, had caught a delicate snowflake which melted immediately, and Ruza stared at them, hurting with the want to kiss his best friend.

Ruza made the fatal mistake of weakening his hold, and Thyon flipped them over with surprising strength, his face hovering over Ruza's.

"Seems like you spoke too soon." Thyon rubbed it in with a smile. "Who's the loser now?" 

Oh sweet gods, Ruza would have been happy to just lie there with Thyon and watch his chest expand with rapid breaths, or the way Thyon's lips quirked up in a smile. Their eyes met, and Ruza was speechless for a moment, Thyon's warm breath tickling his face. 

"Fine, fine, you're better at this whole snow thing, but you have twenty years advantage." 

"Excuses, excuses."

Thyon got off him, his cheeks even redder than before, and Ruza missed his warmth and pressure, but took the offered hand and let Thyon haul him up. They waited for Tzara and Calixte, then joined the others as they trudged to the manor lying ahead while exchanging stories of the most vicious snowball attacks.

They must have looked more dishevelled than they felt, because the owner shooed them in front of a large fireplace, and brought them mulled wine to warm them up from the inside. Ruza was glad to get rid of his soaked gloves — it was uncomfortable wearing them after the fight when the wind blew and made his fingers icy cold. Clenching them to regain some feeling, he watched as Thyon pushed his hat off and shook his golden hair out. Ruza, never too far from a prank, put his hand on the side of Thyon's neck, making him yelp. 

"You're so cold!" 

"All your fault! If you hadn't started the snowball fight…" 

"You had fun, though," Thyon countered, and took Ruza's hand from the armrest between them, without looking at his friend. 

"Always do with you," Ruza whispered so no one else heard him, and Thyon glanced at him, looking away with a smile. 

"Me too." 

Ruza squeezed his hand, because he wasn't sure there were any words he could say right then. Thyon squeezed back, similarly afflicted. They turned their attention back to the others — some of them had clearly more wine than recommended, and were causing a bit of a ruckus. 

"What's happening over there?" Thyon asked, pointing to a door on the other side of the room. 

A girl was bringing a plate of highly piled cakes and a boy, who had just brought more wine, was leaving the room. When they met in the doorway, they both stopped — the boy, shorter, got on tiptoes and kissed the girl. They both laughed, then hurried to their tasks. Ruza and Thyon looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Does it have anything to do with that green bouquet hung above?" 

"Oh, I haven't even noticed it," Ruza admitted. "Let's see if anyone else does it." 

They didn't have to wait long; Sarai and Tzara, who were sat beside them, were also watching the scene. 

This time two ladies met there, and Thyon's theory seemed to be correct, as one of them glanced at the strange plant, then the other one leaned in and kissed her.

Sarai and Tzara were just as baffled as Thyon and Ruza. Soon, the whole group was observing this strange procession, until the owner and his family came to greet their guests, and explained it. 

"Oh, it's an old winter tradition. The plant is called mistletoe — it's hung around the house, and if two people stand underneath it, they have to kiss. As you can imagine, it's very popular among youngsters." 

Ruza smiled to himself, ideas starting to form in his mind. He was definitely not the only one, though — Ruby was definitely conspiring with Sparrow, and Calixte was wiggling her eyebrows at Tzara.

The rest of the visit was mainly spent eating and drinking; the owners were very generous, and interested in the tales of their visitors. To Ruza's great dismay, the host confirmed that there were no dragons in this world either, and Thyon pouted with him. But there was no time to be sad — there were stories and songs, and plenty of merriment to be had. 

The Astral gang finally got up to leave when the sun started setting. This time the walk took a bit longer as most of them were quite tipsy; Ruza hooked his arm with Thyon's while humming a song. Even in the pale light, he noticed Thyon's flushed cheeks and smiled proudly.

"This seems like a pretty nice world," Thyon said quietly. "Was hoping you would finally see dragons, though."

"It's alright, there's always the next one. We'll get to ride one soon, you'll see."

"We?" Thyon tried to sound nonchalant, but Ruza knew him too well by now. 

"Of course. Unless you're too scared,  _ faranji _ ." 

"Not a chance, tropical barbarian." 

Ruza bumped his shoulder against Thyon's, his friend's soft and shy smile making something come alight in his hearts.

It seemed that everyone was in agreement to turn in for an afternoon nap, although Ruby, Sarai and Sparrow were whispering to each other with excitement. Ruza watched them, amused, then said goodbye to Thyon. He imagined what it would feel like to lie next to the alchemist, and stroke his silky blonde locks. Ruza fell asleep with a sigh on his lips. 

* * *

The girls had indeed conspired — overnight, various rooms on the Astral had been decorated with mistletoe, no doubt thanks to Sparrow's gift. Ruza only noticed when he entered the kitchen, rubbing his eyes tiredly, and Sarai kissed his cheek hurriedly. 

Ruza looked back at her, then at his laughing friends at the table. 

"What was that?" 

"Look up," Calixte told him, and Ruza snorted at the sight of the green plant. 

Thyon was already there, at his usual seat, and Ruza sat next to him — he supposed everyone now knew to leave it empty for him. 

"Did you also get a mistletoe kiss?" Ruza asked Thyon while he buttered his toast. 

"Yeah. Luckily, it was Tzara, so she didn't make a big deal about it." 

"Haha, imagine if it had been Calixte, you'd never hear the end of it." 

Thyon groaned into his cup of coffee. "We have to be careful." 

Even though they said that, they forgot that all the common areas had been similarly decorated, so Thyon ended up getting a kiss on his forehead from Suheyla — which luckily, was very sweet and wholesome, and Ruza gave an exaggerated peck to Feral's cheek after dinner, laughing at Feral's shocked expression. 

Of course, as it turned out, the girls had installed the plants with romantic purposes in mind, and he often caught sight of couples stealing kisses. Ruza woke early the next morning, listening to Thyon's door open. It was a bit silly and sly trying to catch him under the mistletoe, and Ruza was sure the others would tease him mercilessly, but he wasn't sure how to approach this issue otherwise. 

When Thyon's door opened, Ruza waited a second, then he left his room too, feigning surprise when their eyes met. 

"Thyon! Morning." 

"Morning, Ruza. Slept alright?" 

"Yeah, like a baby. You?" 

"Good, thanks. Are you leaving on that trip with Lazlo today?" 

"Yeah, just after breakfast. Shame you're not coming." 

"Don't think I'd be a lot of help. Besides, I'm doing some experiments with Sparrow."

"However will I survive not having you around to tease?" Ruza asked in a dramatic manner, stopping just underneath the mistletoe. 

Thyon stopped too, shrugging. "I'm sure you'll think of something," he said, then leaned in and pressed the lightest kiss to Ruza's cheek. 

Ruza, who always thought he was very sleek, stood there dazed by a simple cheek kiss, feeling a blush spread on face. Gods, he was going to replay this moment all day in his head, and Thyon's smiles just made it worse. Or better, Thyon's smiles definitely made  _ everything _ better. 

If that mistletoe kiss was rather private, only witnessed by a very sleepy Lazlo and Werran, the next one was its complete opposite. After the trip, Lazlo wanted to give an update to the whole team, so he called an ad hoc meeting. Ruza, who was taking a shower at that moment, cursed under his breath as he quickly washed off the shampoo. Ruza hurried to get dressed, hair still wet. He was sure that he would be the last one, but then he bumped into Thyon who was coming from his laboratory. 

"You're late." 

"Says the man who still has one leg in the bathtub." 

"Shut up,  _ faranji _ ."

Thyon laughed, but he kept stealing looks at Ruza. The warrior didn't know what they meant, but whenever he tried to catch Thyon's eyes, he looked away. 

They were the last ones to enter the room, but before they could quietly slip to the last free seats, several of their friends started protesting. 

"Kiss, kiss!" Sarai started chanting, everyone joining in with wicked smiles. 

"We're not at the circus!" Thyon stated with some of his old haughtiness. 

Ruza had a hard time keeping a straight face; Thyon had changed a lot in the past few months, and he had learnt to open up to his close friends, but he was still a rather private person in the larger group, and so he sometimes still used his old defence mechanisms. 

"The rules are rules!" 

Ruza glanced at Thyon, trying to put on a neutral expression. "We don't have to give in to these heathens." 

"It's alright, let's just get on with it."

Ruza kissed him quickly, on his jaw, Thyon's fine stubble grazing his lips. The Astral gang erupted in cheeky uuuhs and whistles, like the five-year-olds they were. Ruza hoped that he didn't look as much of a lovestruck idiot as he felt, stumbling to the empty seat. Thyon, though his cheeks were red, seemed more in control of his expression, listening to the meeting with interest. Ruza didn't even know what the topic of discussion was, his mind completely ruined by the kiss. He had never fallen for someone this hard. 

Ruza didn't even realise when the meeting had ended; he had only become attentive to Thyon and Sparrow whispering. When he raised one eyebrow, both of them looked guilty, then Thyon joined him. 

"Everything alright? You're so quiet," Thyon asked as they were walking towards their rooms. 

"Yeah, was just thinking about something." 

"Don't hurt yourself." 

Ruza laughed, surprised at Thyon's impish joke. "I must say, Thyon, your banter is getting a lot better. Clearly, you learnt from the best."

"Yes, I had a great teacher, but he sadly suffers from a big ego." 

"That's rich coming from the  _ faranji _ who brought eight extra camels to carry his ego," Ruza countered with a grin. 

Thyon hit Ruza's shoulder playfully, trying to suppress his laughter. "Hey!" 

Busy as Ruza was making Thyon laugh, they almost bumped into Calixte and Tzara who were making out under a bunch of mistletoe, effectively blocking the way.

Thyon cleared his throat, but the women were too busy to notice him. 

"Just get a room, you two," Ruza said, rolling his eyes with Thyon. 

"We're going to do it there too," Calixte replied. "But see, we got under the mistletoe, couldn't pass up such an opportunity." 

"Of course not." 

Thyon squeezed through, Ruza following him. 

"You two should try it too, see maybe you also have a cannibalistic vein in you." 

Tzara and Calixte couldn't stop laughing. 

Thyon looked very flustered. "Can't hear you here, there's a terrible draft." 

Ruza smiled, shaking his head. He pretended the tightness in his chest wasn't there as he said goodbye to Thyon.

It was a bit too early to go to bed, so Ruza decided to sharpen his hreshteks. They probably didn't need it yet, but sharpening his blades always managed to calm his whirling thoughts. 

What a day it had been. He had kissed Thyon in front of everyone, and got to see him smile, which was such a reward, especially after the stories Thyon had told him about his old life. Would it be too bold if he'd somehow catch Thyon under a mistletoe without anyone around and kiss him? Maybe Thyon needed more time… 

Barely an hour later, there was a knock on Ruza's door. 

"Hey, are you busy?" Thyon asked, peering at Ruza curiously. 

"No, why?" 

"Would you mind giving me a hand? I wanted to bring some books from the library to my room." 

"Of course not, let's go."

"Thanks." 

Thyon looked deep in his thoughts; he was probably working on an experiment and that was why he wanted the books in his room. He was known for staying up during the night, reading and working. When they got to the library, Ruza saw two boxes of books on a table.

He hefted the larger one, and Thyon took the other. Ruza had a quick look at the contents — some of the books were scientific, but others seemed to be from domains that had nothing to do with alchemy.

"Thyon, do you need all these for an experiment?" Ruza asked, confused. 

"Uh… Yes, you could say that."

"But there's even a book about legends."

"There could be clues in there…" Thyon said, shrugging. 

Ruza frowned, then had another look at the books. Most of them were in Amezrou, and though Thyon had made great progress with his language lessons, he wasn't proficient yet. Not on the level of scientific treaties anyway. However, Ruza didn't want to comment anything about this since he knew Thyon had put a lot of effort, and he was now using the Common Tongue less and less. Ruza had been extremely proud, and found it very attractive when Thyon talked to him in his native language. 

"Where should I leave this?" Ruza asked once they made it to Thyon's room.

"By the bookcase, please." 

Ruza left the box there, Thyon dropping his own too. He looked at Ruza in an odd manner, with a mix of fear and excitement. Ruza knitted his eyebrows, until he caught sight of something green from the corner of his eyes. There, above them, its stem pinned between two books, a mistletoe was hanging in all its glory. 

Ruza's lips parted, eyes drawn to Thyon's hopeful expression. 

"I thought… We might..."

"Thyon." Ruza's voice was soft, and he reached out, squeezing Thyon's shoulder.

"May I?" 

Instead of a reply, Ruza kissed him, soft and sweet, until he felt Thyon smile against his lips. Ruza brought him closer, his arms fitting around Thyon's waist perfectly, and their lips met in lingering kisses until they needed to stop for air. 

"Was this whole book carrying business just a ruse to get me here?" Ruza asked. 

"Afraid so," Thyon replied with a cheeky smile.

"You know you could have just kissed me under any mistletoe out there?" 

"Who says I won't do it?" 

Ruza laughed, and they shared many kisses after that, some even in public, much to the delight of their friends who gave thanks to the gods that these two had finally figured out their feelings. 

  
  



End file.
